The Doctorate is the highest-level academic degree in the European Higher Education System and corresponds to the third cycle of higher education. Its goal is to provide the competencies and skills to direct and carry out scientific research by reinforcing the following key attributes:
- Demonstrating a comprehensive and systematic understanding of a specialized field of study, coupled with the mastery of advanced research methodologies and techniques pertinent to it.
- Having demonstrated the ability to conceive, design or create, implement, and adopt a substantial research or creative process.
- Having contributed original research to expand the frontiers of knowledge through original investigation.
- Having the capacity for critical analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
- Having the ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and with society in general about their areas of knowledge in the ways and languages commonly used in their international scientific community.
- Having the capacity to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic, or cultural advancement within a knowledge-based society.
- Having the ability to promote Open Science and Citizen Science as a way to contribute to the consideration of scientific knowledge as a common good.
Under the guidance of their (co)director and tutor, students develop research related to their doctoral thesis while simultaneously strengthening their social skills through specific training. This approach aims to ensure that they acquire basic research competencies, as well as the capacity for innovation and creativity. Doctoral studies provide the following skills and abilities:
- The ability to navigate contexts with limited specific information.
- The skill to identify key questions that must be addressed to solve complex problems.
- The ability to design, create, develop, and undertake new and innovative projects in their field of knowledge.
- The capacity to work both in teams and independently in international or multidisciplinary contexts.
- The ability to integrate knowledge, tackle complexity, and make judgments with limited information.
- Critical thinking skills and intellectual defense of solutions.
These skills and abilities transform doctoral candidates into professionals who bring added value to the workforce.